28-29OCT2023
The new (undrilled) rear seat channels from Zenith still didn't look right after I matched drilled them; they just seems too tall.
I decided to make my own channels that are shorter to see if that improves the fit. We didn't have the correct dies to make Z-bends, so Tom made me some. The bottom die that he welded was a tiny bit out of parallel which was causing the channel to twist when bending it. So then he 3D printed the bottom dies and those worked out really well.
Per the drawing, the bottom bend should be 90 degrees and the top should be 78 degrees. I went past the 90 degree bend and it was closer to 87 degrees. It looked like it might still work, so I matched drilled and clecoed it in. The shorter channel already looks way better and is not interfering with other pieces like the supplied channel was.
I marked the seat base holes on the top of the channel and noticed that the holes are too close to the edge; this is probably from me over bending it.
I'm going to ask Tom to re-print the bottom dies a little bit taller so that I can make the flanges on the channel a little longer. Hopefully if the flanges are little bit longer, it will help if I over bend it again.
Zenith supplied rear seat channel - sits higher than the side support
Custom rear seat channel (attempt #1) - sits more in line with side support
Seat Base interferes with arm rest side with supplied rear seat channel
No interference between seat base and arm rest side with custom rear seat channel
Holes too close to edge on top of custom channel (attempt #1)
Build Time: 5 hours 45 minutes